Judge fears stings were based on racial profiling

A federal judge in Chicago has ordered prosecutors to turn over more government records to defense teams seeking to prove agents racially profiled their black clients in stings involving phony drug stash houses.

Judge Ruben Castillo ruled Friday lawyers defending eight suspects in two cases have raised legitimate questions about whether agents used racial criteria to target the men. That would be unconstitutional and could result in charges being dropped.

Castillo's ruling says defense attorneys presented "troubling statistics" that of 60 people charged since 2010 in the northern Illinois district with robbing phony stash houses, 48 were black. Eleven were Latino and just one was white.

It also cites documents pointing to one, mostly white gang that agents didn't target even though there were indications it was committing drug-related robberies.